Curse of the Stripe
by M-Oislife
Summary: Ravenpaw always thought that Tigerstar was the worst thing that had ever walked StarClan's green Earth. But when he gets a white strip on his back, he was proven wrong.


**_Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. Ravenpaw and Barley belong to Warriors and Pepe Le Pew belongs to Looney Tunes._**

* * *

Barley patted his paw against the ground impatiently. _Where_ is _that cat?_ Earlier Barley had sent Ravenpaw out to do a little hunting while he changed their nests. As soon as he thought this, a black and white blur rushed in a dove into a pile of hay.

"Ravenpaw? Is that you?" Barley called.

"Yes! And if he comes in, tell him to get out!" Ravenpaw said worriedly.

"Who's 'he'?" Barley asked, completely confused. That question answered itself. A weird odor wafted into Barley's nose. It was something he had never smelled before, but he didn't like it.

A black creature walked into the barn. He had a pair of white stripes running down his back and bushy tail. His chest and face were white. "Where are you, my little pigeon?" he called.

Ravenpaw yelped and buried himself in the hay. The animal didn't notice. He turned to Barley. "Excusez-moi, Monsieur (Excuse me, Mister), but have you seen a beautiful skunkette?"

"Uhh... what does the 'skunkette' look like?"

"She's a black skunk with a white stripe on her back. Her tail is tipped with white and she has a white dash on her chest. Her voice is surprisingly deep for a female," the animal explained.

Aside from the white stripe and the fact the skunkette is a female, the descripition sounded exactly like Ravenpaw. Barley wasn't sure if he was talking about Ravenpaw or not. Just to be on the safe side, Barley decided to tell the animal a lie.

"Oh, yeah. I did see the skunkette. She passed by not to long ago. She went that way," Barley beckoned to ShadowClan territory with his tail.

"Merci, Monsieur chat (Thank you, mister cat)" The animal turned around and sped off. "Ready or not, here I come, ma Cherie (my dear)!"

"Is he gone?" Ravenpaw asked from the hay.

"Yeah. He's ShadowClan's problem now."

"Thank StarClan," Ravenpaw sighed as he crawled out of the hay. It was then Barley noticed the white stripe on his back.

"What happened to you?!" Barley cried out.

Ravenpaw sighed. "You know that stuff Twolegs use to cover their fences and put stripes on the Thunderpath?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it turns out they used it on the Thunderpath."

"What were you doing on the Thunderpath?"

"Let me explain."

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Ravenpaw watched the mouse nibbling on a nut. He bunched up his muscles and sprang. The mouse turned around and gasped. It turned around and sped off. The chase was on. Ravenpaw was too focussed on catching the mouse he wasn't paying attention to the fact he was nearing the Thunderpath. By the time he realized he was on the Thunderpath, it was too late. A car was hurtling towards him. Ravenpaw flipped onto his back and pressed himself as flat as he could to the ground and shut his eyes. The car whizzed past him._

Hey. _he thought_ I'm not dead! _Ravenpaw stood up and gave himself a shake. Then he bolted off the Thunderpath. "Whew!" Ravenpaw sighed, once he was back to safety. What he didn't know was that he had rolled onto a strip of wet paint._

 _Almost immediately a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him._

 _"What was a beautiful maiden such as yourself doing on a busy road like zat?" a suave voice cooed._

 _An odd odor tickled Ravenpaw's nose. He squirmed until he was face to face with an animal he had never seen before._

 _"Bonjour (hello), miss. My name is Pepe Le Pew. And I am your admirer."_

 _Ravenpaw panicked. He unsheathed his claws and took a swipe at Pepe. Pepe recoiled in pain, clutching his now open shoulder. Ravenpaw scampered off._

 _"Love hurts," Pepe said to the readers. "I'm coming to get you, my little cabbage!" he called after Ravenpaw and did his traditional merry hop._

* * *

"Wow," Barley murmured in amazement. "That's so weird,"

"I know. Can't he tell I'm a cat, let alone a tom?" Ravenpaw asked.

"Guess not."

Just then, a sickeningly familiar voice interrupted. "Oh, monsieur chat! I was having trouble finding her. Izzit possible she came back zis wa-" Pepe cut himself off when he entered the barn. "Zere you are, ma Cherie! Where have you been?"

"Um, Barley. What should I do?"

"I'd suggest you run."

"Sounds good." Ravenpaw jumped to his paws and ran faster than he had ever run.

"Looks she's in ze mood for anozer game of hide and go seek," Pepe said to Barley.

Barley stared at him like he was crazy. "Um. Yeah..."

"Ready or not, here I come!" Pepe hollered and hopped off.

"Poor Ravenpaw. I should do something," Barley said quietly to himself. He threw his head back and yowled, "Hey, lovebirds! Wait for me!" and ran off.

* * *

Ravenpaw kept running. He was in the middle of ThhunderClan territory. Soon Barley appeared at his side. "Barley? Where did you come from?"

"I figured you were heading here, so I took a shortcut."

ThunderClan camp appeared in their sight.

"Come on!" Ravenpaw urged. The two cats hurtled into the middle of ThunderClan camp.

"Ravenpaw? Barley?" What are you guys doing here?" Fireheart asked.

"And why is there a stripe on your back?" Graystripe added to Ravenpaw.

"It's a long story, but for now, I just need you to get this thing off of me!" Ravenpaw replied.

As if on cue, Yellowfang and Cinderpelt came rushing out of the Medicine Cat den with wet moss in their mouths. They gathered around Ravenpaw and started scrubbing. "Please hurry! I need this thing off me before he comes!" Ravenpaw pleaded.

"Quit your whining. There's only so much scrubbing to be done when you are old like me!" Yellowfang spat.

"Who's 'he'?" Cinderpelt asked.

Right then, Pepe charged into the camp.

"Found you."

Ravenpaw jumped to his paws and bolted out of camp.

"Ravenpaw! Wait for me! I have an idea!" Fireheart shouted as he hurtled after him. Barley was at his heels.

"I don't get it. I keep finding her and she keeps running away," Pepe told the cats that were staring at him. With that, he hopped after the three cats.

"I'm getting too old for this," Bluestar mumbled as she retreated back to her den.

"Me too." Yellowfang agreed as she went back into the Medicine Den. Cinderpelt limped after her.

* * *

"What's the plan?" Ravenpaw asked Fireheart, who had taken the lead.

"We are going to my sister's. She'll know what to do!"

"But your sister is a kittypet!" Ravenpaw protested.

"I know! But I'm sure her Twolegs have _something_ that will get that stripe off your back."

Soon they were in Princess's yard.

"Princess! Are you here? I need a favor!"

"Yes, I'm here Fireheart," Princess stopped short when she saw Ravenpaw and Barley. "Who are they?" She asked nervously.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, Princess. But listen we don't have a lot of time. Ravenpaw, here, needs to get this stripe off his back. Think you can help us?"

"Sure. My housefolk have something that should do the trick. They used it when I first discovered a mud puddle. Come on," Princess turned around and crawled through the cat flap.

Ravenpaw was hesitant. "Should I?" he asked Fireheart.

"I'd say so. Sniff the air."

Ravenpaw did so and smelled a familiar odor. As soon as he did, he bolted through the cat flap with Fireheart and Barley right behind him.

"Is it safe to be in here?" Fireheart asked.

"Totally. My housefolk currently aren't home. But they'll be home soon, so we have to hurry. Follow me." Princess bounded up the stairs. Ravenpaw, Fireheart, and Barley exchanged looks. Fireheart shrugged and darted up the stairs. Ravenpaw and Barley followed.

Princess led them into a room that had three giant bowls of different shapes and sizes. Princess gestured to the biggest bowl.

"This is called a tub. Twolegs use it to clean themselves. Sometimes they use it to clean me," Princess explained. She turned to Ravenpaw. "Get in," she instructed.

Ravenpaw eyed the situation carefully and jumped into the tub. Ravenpaw looked around. "Now what?"

Princess smirked. "You'll see."

She padded over to a piece of wood with a circular object on it. She grabbed the circular object with her teeth and pulled. It swung open. Inside where a bunch of objects Fireheart and Barley had never seen before. Princess looked around and then pulled a bottle out with a kitten on it. It was half-full with a pink liquid. "This is called cat shampoo. You'll see what it does in a moment. In the meantime, Fireheart, could you get this white thing off?" she asked gesturing to the bottle cap.

"Um... Sure... I guess..." Fireheart took the bottle and started gnawing on the cap. Princess jumped onto the edge of the tub and stalked over to a pipe and a pair of knobs on the wall.

"What are those?" Ravenpaw asked.

"It's a faucet," Princess replied.

"What does a faucet do?" Ravenpaw asked.

"Watch." Princess hopped into the tub and pushed a circular object into a hole in the tub. Then she jumped back onto the edge. Princess stuck out her front paw and batted at one of the knobs. It started to turn. When it did, water flowed out of the pipe. It started to creep towards Ravenpaw.

Princess noticed the worried look on his face. "Don't worry. It's just water. Just tell me if it's too cold or too hot."

Ravenpaw tentatively touched the water and shook his paw. "It's cold!" he complained.

Princess nodded and batted at the other knob. Ravenpaw touched the water again. "This feels good."

The water grew higher and higher. When it reached Ravenpaw's shoulder, Princess batted at the knobs again and the water turned off. "Fireheart? Did you get the white thing off yet?"

"Almost got it," Fireheart mumbled through a mouthful of the cap. It was chewed and cracked. Fireheart grabbed it again with his mouth, bit down as hard as he could, and gave his head a jerk. The cap went flying. "Got it!" he said, cheerfully.

"Nicely done," Princess turned to Barley. "I don't think I caught your name."

"Barley."

"Okay, Barley. Could you bring the bottle up here? And be careful not to spill."

Barley took the bottle in his mouth and carefully set it on the edge of the tub. Then he jumped up with Princess. "Now what?" he asked.

"Ravenpaw, get yourself all wet," Princess instructed.

"Why? I'm not a RiverClan warrior."

"Just do it."

Ravenpaw sighed. Then he took a deep breath and dipped his head under the water. When he came back up, he was soaked and the stripe started to run. Ravenpaw craned his neck to see the stripe and gasped. "It's working!"

"But just water isn't enough. Barley, pour some of the shampoo on Ravenpaw. I'll be right back," Princess jumped down and went back to the place where she got the cat shampoo. She looked around and pulled out a piece of fabric. Keeping it clutched in her teeth, she jumped up onto the side of the tub and she carefully slid into the water. Princess dipped the fabric into the water, getting it soaked.

Barley carefully grabbed the shampoo bottle with his front paw and started to tip the bottle. But his paws slipped and the bottle fell into the water. It fell with a big splash, spraying everyone in the face.

"Umm... Princess? Is this good, or bad?" Barley asked, dreading the answer.

"My guess is bad," Princess replied, nervously biting her bottom lip.

"What was that splashing sound?" Fireheart asked. He padded over to the tub and jumped up, but water had gotten the edge wet.

"WOAH!" Fireheart yelped as he slipped. The next thing he knew, water was dripping from his ears. But that was the least of their worries.

The shampoo flowed from the bottle and into the water. When Fireheart landed in the water, it stirred the shampoo and bubbles were forming. Princess decided to take advantage of this and she grabbed the fabric. She dipped the fabric into the water again and got it bubbly. Princess waded over to Ravenpaw. She placed the fabric on his back and started scrubbing. The stripe started to fade. She continued to scrub his back, head, and tail until the stripe was completely gone.

By the time it was. The four cats were surrounded by bubbles. Some of the bubbles had overflowed. They were showing no sign of stopping.

"Princess! How do we stop them?!" Fireheart yowled.

"I don't know! My housefolk never had to deal with this!

"This is all my fault! I should never have lost my grip on the bottle!" Barley whined.

"No, it's _my_ fault because _I'm_ the one who made you pour the shampoo!" Princess whined defensively.

"No! It's _my_ fault because _I'm_ the one who got you involved, Princess!" Fireheart snapped.

"NO! IT'S _MY_ FAULT BECAUSE IF I HAD BEEN MORE CAREFUL, I WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN THAT STUPID STRIPE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Ravenpaw yowled.

"Why are we all arguing over who's fault it is?! Let's get rid of this water once and for all!" Fireheart snapped.

"But how?!" Barley yelled.

"I've got an idea!" Princess shouted.

"Why are we yelling?!" Ravenpaw yelled.

Everyone ignored him. Princess dove under the water and came back up holding the circular object she used to plug the hole in the tub with. The water started going down. Eventually, all the water and bubbles were gone. The only things left were four soaking wet cats and an empty shampoo bottle. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. The relief was short-lived, however.

"There you are, ma Cherie!" Pepe called.

The four cats turned to see him standing in the doorway.

"How did you find us?!" Fireheart yelped.

"You were making enough noise to wake ze dead," Pepe turned to Ravenpaw. "I admire zat."

Ravenpaw jumped in front of Pepe.

"Listen. I'm not a skunk. I'm a cat. The stripe was fake. See?" Ravenpaw turned around to show Pepe his jet black back.

"Oh. I have been mistaken. I deeply apologize and I shall leave you alone," Pepe turned around and left, desperately trying to hide his tears.

"Y'know. I almost feel bad for the guy," Ravenpaw said.

"Look on the bright side. At least you don't have to deal with his stench anymore," Barley pointed out.

"Truth."

 **That's All Folks!**


End file.
